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Cardiff’s leading contemporary art gallery by the sea…

The Washington Gallery, housed in a refurbished art deco cinema located in the centre of Penarth, has become a focal point in this Victorian coastal town and now has an annual visitor rate of over 75,000 from the local and wider community.

As a not for profit organisation and registered charity, managed by Penarth Arts & Crafts Ltd, the Gallery strives to support and pro-actively promote Wales based contemporary art to all groups in the community through it’s constantly changing and stimulating free admission exhibitions. Committed to developing and promoting Welsh art and culture, the Washington mounts over 30 contemporary exhibitions each year, and has arranged sales for a diverse range of art by internationally renowned names alongside local artists and new emerging talents from all areas within Wales.

The Gallery also shows an extensive choice of exclusive jewellery, ceramics, glassware and textiles by local and national designers. Unique in its eclectic, wide-ranging programme of high quality Welsh contemporary art & craft; high profile painters such as John Selway and Ivor Davies exhibit alongside a new generation of well-recognised names such as Iwan Lewis, Dan Llywelyn Hall, Sue Williams & Chris Griffin.

With its strong commitment to open access and responsiveness to the local community, the Gallery also sustains an active educational programme with workshops, master-classes, lectures, poetry readings & music events for both adults and children; it is particularly proud of the achievements of its outreach projects with disabled and disadvantaged groups, most notably with children and young people.

Washington Gallery runs an innovative Education Programme, now in its twelfth year, providing access to the arts for disabled and disadvantaged groups in the community. Through a series of art workshops with professional artists and tutors, the people involved gain a great sense of achievement, pride and self-esteem, learning new skills and creating a collaborative piece of art that can be displayed in the gallery. The exhibition of such work promotes public understanding, awareness and recognition of the disabled.

The Washington Gallery prides itself on the popularity of the workshops and exhibitions and the amount of recognition and success they have gained. All the projects that have taken place in the past have received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, from the client groups and artists themselves. From this the Washington Gallery aims to continue with this excellent service to the public and expand on its creative environment with fresh ideas and exciting new projects.